Booze, energy drinks popular mix for students

Energy drinks are shown in a Montreal store in July 2010 in Montreal. The medical community is voicing alarm over the increasing popularity of the highly caffeinated energy drinks among young people, especially when mixed with alcohol. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

One in four Nova Scotia high school students have consumed a mix of alcohol and energy drinks, one of the highest rates in the country, a new national study shows.

The study published Jan. 16 in CMAJ Open, an online journal of the Canadian Medical Association, found that on average one in five Canadian high school students reported having consumed a mix of the two.

“The prevalence of use was highest among Aboriginal (33.8 per cent) and black (25 per cent) students, and among those residing in British Columbia (25.8 per cent) and Nova Scotia (25.6 per cent),” says the study, carried out by researchers at Dalhousie University’s faculty of medicine.

The study used a nationally representative sample of more than 36,000 grades 7 to 12 students who participated in the 2010-2011 Youth Smoking Survey.

Those surveyed were asked whether they had consumed mixed or premixed alcohol with an energy drink during the past 12 months.

“Use of alcohol mixed with energy drinks was higher among those in higher grades and among those who were older,” says the study, authored by researchers Sunday Azagba, Don Langille, and Mark Asbridge of Dalhousie medical school’s community health and epidemiology department.

Fewer younger students (Grade 7) consumed alcohol (10 per cent) compared with students in Grade 11 (65 per cent) and Grade 12 (69 per cent).

However, when younger students drink alcohol, a higher proportion of them mix the alcohol with energy drinks, the study said.

Dr. John Finley, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, said the findings are worrying.

“It is a concern there is no question about that,” Finley said. “Nova Scotia seems to be higher than some of the other provinces in terms of the use of this combination.”

Energy drinks, which contain high amounts of caffeine, have been shown to mask the symptoms of intoxication and can result in greater risk-taking behaviour such as driving, he said. And they have been linked to health complaints such as nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and fast heart rates, even in people who are healthy.

Doctors Nova Scotia has been calling for provincial regulations banning the sale of the energy drinks to youths.

“We feel that they should not be available for purchase if you are under 18,” Finley said.

A variety of measures, such as educational programming, advertising campaigns, higher prices, and regulation, needs to be looked at when it comes to consumption by youth of energy drinks, alcohol, and the combination of the two, he said.

“They are both worrisome,” Finley said. “It is simplistic to think that just prohibiting it for sale to this group of youngsters is going to stop the problem. It really has to be a multi-pronged approach such as with youth and smoking.”

The study found that some subgroups of students are more likely to consume a combination alcohol and energy drinks.

The likelihood of using alcohol mixed with energy drinks increases among students “who were younger, had used psychoactive substances, were frequently absent from school, were involved in sports and had more spending money,” the study said.

Provinces where students reported the lowest rates of consumption of combined alcohol and energy drinks, included Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and Ontario.